Friday 25 January 2013

MUSIC EAR



DEVELOP YOUR MUSIC EAR.
“A GOOD MUSIC EAR” simply means the ability to identify notes, pitch, chords, rhythm and instruments! A good Worship leader/ musician should have a good music ear in order to be able to coordinate music, arrange music and write good songs! It’s true that the best way to develop music arrangement and songwriting craft is to listen to the music of professionals; but if you are unable to identify what you are hearing it’s quite useless! Before you start trying to develop your music ear you should first understand that music ear goes hand to hand with music theory; Therefore developing your basic music theory would really help you develop a good music ear. You can also try the following:-
 1. Find somebody to play a major scale for you; for example, C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C= (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 or do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do); Then have him/her play random notes from the scale while you  name each scale degree of the note he/she plays; eg. If “D” is played you name it “3” or “mi”, if “F” you name it “4” or “Fa” and so on! Mind you the example I gave was according to the major scale of key C (major) but you can do it in any key you want!
2. Get yourself some ear training software from different sites! It’s easy just type “online ear training” in a search engine! 
3. Use numbers when referring chords in a song; for example, if the song is in the key of G major and you find that G, C and D are the most common chords then you’d name them 1,2 and 3 consecutively! That will help you help you identify chords in every key!
I believe that will gradually help you develop your music ear and once your music ear is developed, you’ll find yourself writing better songs, arranging better music and even singing or playing better!
*BE BLESSED AS YOU MOVE TO THE NEXT LEVEL*

Monday 21 January 2013

TEAM COMMUNICATION ON STAGE.



MUSICAL SIGNALS TO BE USED ON STAGE.
Using verbal communication on stage between musicians and singers without a “talk back mic” is always very destructive, it destructs the audience and sometimes might even destruct the flow of Worship! Therefore, to get rid of such kind of destructions, the following are some basic musical signals that can be used:-
·         HAND SIGNALS. If you got your hands available, you can try or modify the following signals:
             A  -Closed fist = End of the song
                         B -Closed fist = End of the song
         C   -Swirling finger in the air = Repeat current section of the song
.                       D -A “V” sign behind the back (just like a peace sign) = Go to verse
                         E   -A “C” sign behind the back (as if you’re holding a drink) = Go to chorus
                        F    -Shaky side hand ( like you’re panning for gold) = Build musically ( Crescendo)
    
 ·         FOOT SIGNALS. If your hands are occupied with an instrument (such as a guitar) you could try the following:
.                     G    -Stomping a foot = Build musically (Crescendo)
.                    H     -Leg lift (towards the back) = Bring down (decrescendo)
I.                  I    -Tip toes = End the song

·         BODY GESTURES:
  1. -Lean back = End of the song or cut back musically
  2. -Tilt and lift guitar neck towards the drummer = End of the song
  3. -Drop guitar neck = last note/chord
  4. -Pump guitar neck = End with retard in sync with neck pump
·         HEAD SIGNALS:
  1. -Rhythm nod = Set song tempo
O      -Big up and down nod = start or end of a section of the song
P-Sideways head turn = watch for the next signal – its coming ……..now

·         VERBAL CLUE. Say or sing the first or two words of the section you want to go.
NB: The above are just some of the many musical signals, you can modify them or even create your own signals with your team for better team communication on stage!
*BE BLESSED AS YOU MOVE TO THE NEXT LEVEL*

Saturday 19 January 2013

BASIC TIPS FOR WORSHIP KEYBOARD PLAYERS

  1. Set up where you can always see the face of your worship or band leader. Signals and communication will be much more intuitive
  2. Don’t just stick to piano sounds. Pads, Rhodes, Whirly, Hammond, strings. Variety is the spice girls of music.
  3. You are playing in the same sonic spectrum as the lead guitarist so try to hear what each other is playing and work together, combine rhythms, you play low, they play high, you play chords, they play lead, take turns etc. If you can’t hear them at least watch their fingers for the rhythms they play.
  4. Use sus2 chords (1,2,5) instead of full triads (1,3,5) – it adds a sense of ambiguity and space to the sound
  5. Your left hand performs a very similar function to the bass player so be careful not to clash and give them room to do their job. Common mistakes are playing ‘pushes’ that don’t lock in with the bass line or kick drum, freestyle rhythms that don’t lock in with the main groove and general business.
  6. If in doubt tie your left hand behind your back and just use your right hand. I’m serious!
  7. Learn the 1st and 2nd inversion of the basic triad so you can link from one chord to the next with the closest voicing
  8. Don’t rely on transpose button all the time. Once you are confident in C, learn to play in G then D then Bb, Eb – use the black notes!
  9. Use reference tracks and try to copy exact keyboard parts from CDs, it will build your knowledge of sounds and train your ear.
  10. Work out what style your band is trying to play in and listen to as much music from those who inspire your sound

FUNDAMENTALS OF A WORSHIP LEADER



FUNDAMENTALS OF A WORSHIP LEADER.
To be a Worship leader you will first have to understand that it’s not about you but in everything you do is for the Glory of the most-high God. A Worship leader should understand that there is only one ministry that God has called every one for, but using different kind of tools and that is “TO RECONCILE PEOPLE BACK TO JESUS”! Therefore music is NOT your ministry rather it is just a tool that God gave you to do the ministry! After understanding that, the following should follow:-
-BE FILLED WITH THE WORD OF GOD & THE HOLY SPIRIT!
You can’t drain water out of an empty well! So you got to be filled first before you start pouring to others!
-LIVE ON PRAYER.
As in all relationships, the more time you spend with someone the better you get to know them and the more you take on their characteristics! Now this kind of prayer shouldn’t just be for making requests and seeking for direction; rather it should be more of you spending time with the LORD who is the BOSS of your ministry, get time to know him better, listen to his instructions and what he wants to do for the season!
-HUMILITY.
Humility is the heart beat of a Worship leader!
“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who being in every nature of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness” that’s not according to me but according to the bible in “Philippians 2:5-7”..
-NEVER SEIZE TO SHARPEN THE GIFT THAT GOD HAS GIVEN YOU!
God doesn’t deserve just anything; therefore you ought to be skillful & trained both spiritually and in the natural so that you can give God the very best!
-DO WHATEVER YOU DO WITH LOVE!
-BE EVER TEACHABLE!


                                                                 *BE BLESSED*